Aura
by Lord Zalgo
Summary: When a routine patrol in the Emerald Forest goes awry, a particular member of Team RWBY is rescued by a mysterious figure wielding a scythe, but it isn't someone anybody expected...
1. Chapter 1

It was just a routine patrol. Beowolves. A few Ursai, no big deal. That was ten minutes prior. It was a bloodbath since then. Team RWBY and Team JNPR weaved through the snow-filled Emerald Forest as the Grimm pursued them.

"Which way's Beacon?!" Jaune yelled out as he ran.

"I-I'm pretty sure it's this way!" Ruby replied as she ran at the same pace, her Aura practically depleted and her Semblance too taxing to use. The Grimm were approaching with every passing moment as the two teams ran and shot their weapons behind them in the hopes of taking out as many as they could. They didn't have any other choices. Only a few of them had any Aura remaining, certainly not enough to survive too many hits from the dozens of Grimm chased the young Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training. Ren was being stabilised by Nora as they ran, allowing Ren to use StormFlower to fire at the Grimm. Blood continued to pour from the many wounds that the teams had sustained, especially Ren's injured leg. Pyrrha glanced around at the trees before her eyes widened.

"Wait, this place looks a little familiar!" Pyrrha called out. Jaune passed a glance at Pyrrha before realising what she meant. He also felt a sense of familiarity from their current location. The two teams came to a halt outside of a cave that once housed a Death Stalker that Pyrrha and Jaune had encountered during their initiation. Only Nora, Yang, Pyrrha and Blake could stay on their feet. Their teammates fell to their knees, the pain from their wound starting to take their toll. Weiss and Jaune tried to get to their feet again, only to fail, their faces contorting in pain as they did so. They were surrounded and didn't have the strength to fight back and the ones that did didn't have enough to take them all on.

"We can't kill them all." Blake said with dread in her voice, bringing everyone's attention to her. Yang responded by walking ahead of her and raising her fists into a combat stance, Ember Celica at the ready.

"…Then, we take as many as we can with us." Yang replied with a stern, stoic expression. Ruby turned her gaze towards Yang as tears began to fill her eyes. She knew what Yang had meant. She was going to take the lead and kill as many Grimm as she could before one of them would get a lucky shot and deplete her Aura completely. However, Ruby noticed something that Yang didn't. One of the Beowolves that was covered in snow, camouflaging it with its surroundings, hiding it from Yang's sight. It raised its claw with the intent of slicing Yang to pieces. Yang turned and time seemed to slow in her mind. The claw was coming at her at a terrifying speed. One that she couldn't react to in time. The claw met its mark with an audible, disgusting slice.

…As a rose petal floated past Yang's face.

Yang stood, frozen as Ruby collapsed in front of her. Her little sister's blood flowing out of the large wound the Beowolf had caused. Blake threw Gambol Shroud between the Beowolf's eyes, killing it instantly before pulling it back and attacking another Grimm as Yang slowly crouched down and turned Ruby over in her arms. Ruby's beautiful, silver eyes were shut and showed no signs of opening. The small body in Yang's arms remained motionless as Weiss, Jaune and Ren stared in shock, the other three of Yang's teammates too occupied with the Grimm to notice what had happened. Blood continued to drain from Ruby's body as Yang gently shook her with a look of horrified shock etched onto her face.

"…Ruby? …Ruby?" Yang's voice was so quiet that nearly none of her teammates heard her. Ruby gave no response.

"…C'mon, Ruby, this isn't funny… You gotta get up…" Yang spoke again, her expression not changing, but tears were forming in her eyes. Ren changed his look to one of sorrow as Jaune had already descended into tears. Weiss looked on at the scene with a look of complete disbelief that was slowly devolving into one of horror.

' _No… No… Not… Not Ruby… How could… How could I let this happen_?' Weiss thought in horror. Yang continued to cradle Ruby as if she was trying to gently wake her up from a nap.

"C'mon, Ruby… You can't be a lazybones… You grew out of that when you were eight…" Yang's look of shock had slowly changed into one of pure misery as reality was slowly setting in for her.

"You… You've gotta get up! Who's…? Who's…?" Yang's sobs made her words get caught in her throat before she looked back at Ruby's lifeless face.

"…Who's gonna be my hero if you're not here?" Yang said before she started sobbing into Ruby's bloodstained chest. Yang sobbed quietly for a moment before letting out a heartbroken scream that caught everyone's attention and even caused the Grimm to stop for a moment. Everyone was suddenly aware of Ruby's lifeless body as Yang gently laid her down on the red-stained snow. Yang's hair obscured her eyes as it began to glow and small flames began to ignite within it as her little sister's blood stained her face. Yang opened her eyes to show that they were glowing blood red, far more brightly than they had ever shone before, as her hair became a burning form of flames. Yang's teammates began to shuffle away from her as the snow directly around Yang melted and evaporated within seconds as she looked at all of the Grimm once more. The look of absolute fury in her eyes as her tears evaporated also caused the Grimm to freeze and falter slightly before Yang raised her fists.

"…Burn." Yang said simply before she let out another scream before launching herself at the horde of Grimm, her body ready to fight, but her heart only ready to cry.

* * *

Ruby gasped for breath as she coughed and launched herself to her feet. She looked absently at the darkened environment around her before memories began flooding back to her. She gasped as she pressed her hands to her chest, only to find no wound. Not even a trace of one. She exhaled slowly to calm herself as she looked around again. She was standing on a ground made of grey stone slabs and that was all she could see as she was standing in a spotlight that darkened the rest of the room. She exhaled again only to see her breath condense into a fog as it left her mouth, allowing her to realise how cold it was. It confused her that it was colder in that strange place than in the Emerald Forest when it was filled with snow… Ruby suddenly realised that she had to make it back to the forest to help her friends, but a voice in the darkness made her freeze where she stood.

"I wouldn't move out of that circle. Your fate has yet to be decided." The voice said as a figure began to step out of the darkness. The voice was definitely male, as it was too deep to be female, but it didn't have any gravel to it, leaving it with a more… melodic tone. Ruby was put on edge by the voice as it reminded her too much of Torchwick, but she also knew that it wasn't his voice. The figure itself was draped in a full length, black, leather cloak with leather gloves and boots to match. The figure was carrying a large scythe, that was as large if not, slightly larger than Crescent Rose. But, it was just made of wood with a single blade. It didn't look like it could turn into a gun, to Ruby's relief and disappointment. She did still like weapons, after all. The figure had the cloak's hood draped over his face, obscuring it completely as he absently ran a leather-clad finger over the deck of card in his hand.

"W-where am I? Why am I here?" Ruby asked, wary of the figure. The figure stopped a few metres away from Ruby before replying.

"Simple. You are deceased, my dear." The figure replied. The figure's words made Ruby freeze once again as tears began to flow from her eyes.

"…No…" Ruby said breathlessly, not wanting to believe the figure's words as she fell to her knees.

"As I was saying, your judgement is upon you." The figure said as he lifted his hand, causing the cards to fly from it and float behind him in order, revealing that they were Tarot cards rather than playing cards.

"First, though… Ruby, yes? What is your surname?" The figure said as an unrolled scroll made of parchment appeared before him and he skimmed through the names written on it.

"…R…Rose…" Ruby replied pathetically as more tears rolled off of her face.

"Ruby Rose. Ru-… Hm…" The figure's confused tone at the end of his sentence caught Ruby's attention.

"What? …What is it?" Ruby asked, still crying. The figure seemed to be looking through his scroll again before it vanished along with the Tarot deck and the scythe.

"It seems that you are not on the list, Miss Rose." The figure said as he approached Ruby slowly.

"Wh-What does that mean?" Ruby asked, frozen in fear as the dark garbed figure drew closer. The figure stopped in front of her shivering form… before he extended his hand to offer to help her up. After a moment of hesitation, she took the hand and got to her feet.

"It means that we have a bit of leeway here." The figure said as he took a few steps back to give the shorter girl some space.

"L-leeway?" Ruby asked, still wary of the figure.

"Indeed. Your fate is now in your own hands, Ruby Rose." It may have been Ruby's imagination, but she could have sworn that she heard a smile in the figure's melodic voice. For some reason, despite how cold the room was, she felt slightly warmer at his tone.

"Okay… What do you mean by 'my fate is in my hands now'?" Ruby asked, her hesitance slowly ebbing away.

"You weren't scheduled to die today. The fact that you _have_ died has given me the power to guide you either way." The figure replied.

"'Either way'?" Ruby asked. The figure gestured behind him to show a doorway that was draped in shadow. Ruby couldn't see beyond the frame itself.

"Forward, to the next life. Whether you go to the land above or the land below is reflected on the way you lived. Or…" The figure halted his explanation to point behind Ruby, revealing another doorframe, identical to the first one.

"…You can go back, to the realm of the living. The choice is yours." The figure finished. Ruby's eyes widened as the figure explained.

"I-I-I can go _back_?! For realsies?!" Ruby asked excitedly. The figure let out a single amused chuckle.

"For realsies." The figure replied. Ruby let loose a slightly teary laugh as she leapt into the air and cheered loudly. She began to jog towards the door back to life before slowing down and coming to a stop. The figure watched her stop and simply remained silent as he watched the young girl.

"…Can… Can you look for a person for me?" Ruby asked, almost too quietly for the figure to hear.

"I can find anyone. Why?" The figure replied. Ruby slowly turned around with a slight dark, sombre look in her once-vibrant eyes.

"Do you know someone named… Summer Rose?" Ruby asked timidly. The figure didn't respond immediately. He then raised his hand and conjured the scroll once more and rolled it in his hand scrolling through the names, the start and end of fading in and out of existence respectively. Ruby slowly walked towards him as the figure slowed down and held his finger over one name. Summer Rose.

"…Here. Summer Rose." The figure said, slightly wary of what Ruby's reaction would be.

"…Can you show her to me?" Ruby asked.

"…Should I?" The figure asked, causing Ruby to take on a look of surprise.

"Wh-what?" Ruby asked, confused.

"A moment ago, you seemed elated that you could return to life and now you seem more enamoured with the other side." The figure stated.

"I just want to see my mother! Is that so bad?!" Ruby yelled.

"And what is waiting for you back with the living?" The figure asked, making the scroll vanish.

"…My sister, Yang… My dad… All my friends… Uncle Qrow…" Ruby listed becoming more deflated as the list grew longer. She began to turn her gaze back and forth between the doors, weighing her options.

"Ruby Rose. There is only one way I can show you this person. I'd have to take you to where she is. When you choose one way… you cannot choose the other. Deaths are normally accurately scheduled. This kind of inaccuracy is a very, very rare occurrence. Another could happen tomorrow or only once in the next century. This kind of choice cannot be wasted. You must make the choice you won't regret. Go to your mother and leave your sister and friends where you left them? Or, live the rest of your life with them and re-join your mother when the time is right?" The figure said, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby suddenly wrapped her arms around the figure snuggling her head into his chest. She wasn't used to hugging someone so tall, but he was roughly the same height as Jaune and Pyrrha, so it didn't faze her too much.

"I… I just miss her so much…" Ruby said as tears flowed down her face.

"I'm sorry that I had to be so upfront with you, but it seemed like you needed to weigh your options fairly." The figure said sympathetically. Ruby slowly disengaged herself from the figure before wiping her tears.

"…Okay… I… I think I'm ready to go back now." Ruby said softly. The figure touched her shoulder gently and guided her towards the door. The stopped on the precipice of the darkness on the other side of the doorframe as Ruby began to shiver slightly. But, the figure knew that it wasn't from the cold.

"As long as you stay near me, you will be safe. Are you certain that this is what you want?" The figure asked. Ruby seemed to contemplate for a moment before nodding firmly. The figure took her hand gently as they both walked through the door and instantly vanishing.

* * *

Weiss, Blake and Team JNPR watched Yang in borderline horror. She was standing a few metres away, steam and smoke slowly emitting from her body. And piles of Grimm remains all around her. She seemed to be slowly coming down from the rage-induced state she was in, but it was enough to let her kill every last Grimm that helped take Ruby away from her…

Blood stained her body, hair and clothes… Just none of it was hers.

Jaune slowly got to his feet and slowly walked towards Yang, ignoring the apprehensive looks from his friends.

"Yang… They're gone. You can stop now…" Jaune said softly. Yang continued to breathe deeply, filled with rage.

"Not yet… They're not the only ones gone…" Yang replied. Jaune flinched slightly at her words.

"…But… This isn't what she'd want…" Jaune replied weakly. Yang suddenly grasped Jaune by the hoodie and lifted him into the air.

"How dare you?! How dare you say that! I loved Ruby! You've got no right to say that! I love my sister, damn it!" Yang yelled in Jaune's face. Jaune simply stared into her eyes.

"So did we." Jaune said as more tears left his eyes. Yang froze suddenly and slowly put him down as tears began to fall from her eyes. Her hands stayed clenched on Jaune's hoodie before she lowered her head to her hands and began to cry again, causing Jaune to wrap his arms around her. Suddenly, the cold wind began to pick up in speed around them, the snow around them being picked up by the breeze.

"What's going on?!" Pyrrha yelled out, the wind becoming louder. The wind slowly became a cyclone of snow ominously swirling in front of the two teams. Slowly, the wind stopped spinning, causing the snow to slowly fall.

…Revealing a leather-clad hooded figure standing in the centre. Ruby's expression became one of pure joy as she saw the people in front of them.

"Guys!" Ruby said excitedly. The figure turned to Ruby.

"I'm sorry, my dear. They can't see or hear you." The figure said. The two teams shared looks of confusion as they tiredly drew their weapons.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked as the hand she was holding Myartenaster in was shaking from exhaustion. The figure looked back to the group.

"I have been given many names. But, I have grown accustomed to a name I have adopted in recent years. Aura." Aura replied, before turning his gaze to the cold, unmoving body of Ruby Rose. Yang followed his gaze before her face contorted in rage.

"Stay away from her!" Yang screamed before thrusting her fist forward to punch Aura in the face. The punch caused Aura's hood to fly backwards to reveal Aura's head. Or…

Where his head _should_ be.

Yang froze as her fist hit thin air and nothing more.

"E-e-empty… N-n-no head…" Yang stuttered under her breath, her shock rivalling everyone else's. Aura slowly crossed his arms before taking hold of his hood again and draping over the air above his shoulders, hiding it completely again. Oddly, though, there was a definite shape underneath the clothes, just not without them. His gaze turned to Yang causing her to flinch.

"That was just rude. I have no time for you." Aura said as he lifted his hand, causing it to glow a light azure. Suddenly, none of the hunters and huntresses could move. They made evident struggles, but to no avail.

"Wh-what did you do?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Worry not. They'll be fine." Aura replied. Aura walked over to Ruby's body, much to Yang's rage.

"I said, stay away from her!" Yang screamed, still unable to move. Ignoring her, Aura raised his hand as it began to glow azure again. Ruby's body began to glow a soft azure as her wounds began to close and then seal completely, leaving no scars. Ruby watched in awe as her body healed before her eyes. The two teams continued to watch Aura mend Ruby's body in confusion. After Aura had finished healing Ruby's body, he turned back to her.

"So… how does this work?" Ruby asked gingerly. Aura simply raised his hand again.

"Remember to breathe." Aura replied simply.

"Wait, wha-?" Ruby sentence cut off as her vision was suddenly enveloped in a bright light. After a moment, Ruby's body jolted into a seated position and released a loud gasp, inhaling as much oxygen as she was capable. Aura stood and looked down at Ruby as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"Ugh… I'm all stiff…" Ruby said in a slightly rasping voice.

"Muscles stiffen after death, if you just keep moving normally, it will pass." Aura replied, before turning back to the restrained teenagers. They were in a completely stunned silence as they didn't move their gaze from Ruby as she continued to breathe slightly raggedly and stretched more to loosen her muscles. When she finally stood up, Aura raised his hand again and released his hold on Team RWBY and JNPR, allowing them to gather around Ruby as Yang wrapped her in her arms and squeezed her tightly. Yang showed no signs of letting her go as Ruby returned the squeezing before looking over her shoulder to see Aura walking away.

"Wait!" Ruby called out, causing Aura to stop in his tracks.

"Will I be able to see you again?" Ruby asked. Silence fell before Aura slowly turned around.

"You… want to see me again?" Aura asked, confused. Yang held onto Ruby a little tighter, as if to send a message to her sister that she didn't trust the figure.

"Yeah, I owe you for what you did for me. Besides, we're friends, right?" Ruby concluded, causing Weiss, Blake and Yang to flinch, memories of Penny's… 'vibrant' personality flooding back to them. Aura remained silent for a moment before summoning his scroll again. In a flash of light, the scroll had transformed into a black, mechanical Scroll, similar to the ones that the students and staff use. He gave a few taps on the translucent screen before turning back to Ruby.

"It's about time I had an upgrade anyway." Aura said as Ruby's Scroll began to vibrate. Ruby reached into her back pocket, muttering a small complaint about girl pockets as she did so and pulled out her own Scroll. She wiped off a few specks of blood that were staining it before activating it and seeing the notification. It read: 'Aura sent you a friend request. Accept?'. Ruby quickly accepted it before seeing Aura right in front of her.

"I'll talk to you soon!" Ruby said merrily as her friends remained in their shocked silence. Aura's hand flashed azure again as it summoned both his scythe and Crescent Rose to his hands. He handed Crescent Rose to Ruby, which she happily accepted, before the two gently clanged the blades of their scythes together in a friendly manner, almost like a high five.

"We reapers have to stick together." Aura said with a definite smile in his voice which Ruby returned as Aura slowly faded away.

It _was_ just a routine patrol. But, even when everything goes wrong, some good can always shine through.


	2. Chapter 2

Team RWBY were having a quiet afternoon in their room. Yang was listening to her favourite band, The Achieve Men. Blake was reading her newest book in silence, in her own little world. Weiss was polishing Myrtenaster and checking the Dust chamber within it. Ruby, however, was laying on her stomach, on her bed, bored out of her mind. She gave a quiet yawn as she gazed off into space, trying to think of something to engage her mind. Suddenly, a buzz came from her pocket as her Scroll began vibrating. Taking it out of her pocket, she pressed the button to open it and answered the call.

"Hello?" Ruby greeted, careful not to make her voice too loud. To Weiss and Blake, the voice on the line was too muffled to hear, while Yang couldn't hear anything but her music.

"Oh, hey! …Yeah, I've been good, how about you?" Ruby engaged in the conversation as she shifted her body onto her back to get more comfortable. Weiss and Blake began to grow slightly curious as to who was calling, but remained silent out of respect for Ruby's privacy.

"Business' been slow, then? …Aw, that sucks. I'm kinda bored too. …Yeah, everyone else is just kinda doing their own thing." Ruby said, a bit of dullness in her voice, showing how bored she was. Weiss and Blake grew ever more curious as Yang took off her headphones and realised that Ruby was on the Scroll.

"…Yeah, we could totally hang out! I don't have any lessons and if we stay out of everyone's way, we'll be fine. We could check out Vale! I've been meaning to since I got to Beacon!" Ruby grew more and more excited at the proposition, causing the curiosity within her teammates to peak.

"Yeah, you wouldn't get a chance to sightsee, would you? …Yeah, just come to my room and we'll go when you get here. …You won't make a mess, will you? …Oh, alright, cool. …See you!" Ruby ended the call excitedly as she jumped off of her bed finally realising the three sets of eyes on her.

"Who was that?" Yang asked. Suddenly, a strange, black, glowing pentagram appeared on the floor of the room next to Ruby.

"Well, speak of the reaper…" Ruby said under her breathe before in a flash of black light, Aura appear in all of his leather-clad glory. Causing every girl in the room to jump a foot in the air. Yang, Weiss and Blake out of shock, Ruby out of delight.

"Aura!" Ruby exclaimed as she thrusted her arms into the air.

"Hello, Ruby. Are you ready?" Aura asked, causing Ruby to nod happily and the rest of Team RWBY to take on a look of shock.

" _This_ is the one you were talking to?!" Weiss exclaimed with a hint of disgust.

"…Yes, Weiss. _He_ was the one I was talking to." Ruby replied levelly, standing her ground. Aura awkwardly began to back away to stay out of their way. As Ruby and Weiss began to argue on Ruby's taste in friends, Yang got off of her bed and stood next to Aura as the two watched the two shorter girls argue.

"…Yeah… Weiss doesn't like ya." Yang said, stating the obvious.

"I figured. What about you?" Aura asked. Yang seemed to contemplate her answer before replying.

"Well… There is a part of me that's just scared and wants to break your bones. …If you had bones." Yang said.

"Oh, I can make bones." Aura said, interrupting her thought.

"…Wait, really?" Yang asked, suddenly interested. Aura suddenly covered his body with a flash of azure light before it dissipated. Aura then removed his hood to reveal that he'd actually given himself a skeletal body. He looked over to Yang as she stared back.

"How do I look?" Aura asked, his new jawbone moving as he spoke. There was no doubt in Yang's mind that he truly looked like the Grim Reaper now. But, she also knew that there was only one thing that she could possibly say.

"Heavier." Yang said.

"'Heavier'?" Aura asked in confusion.

"Yeah. At least a skele- _ton_ heavier!" Yang said with a wide grin, causing Ruby, Weiss and Blake to facepalm in complete unison.

"Dust, damn it, Yang!" Weiss exclaimed, disgusted at the pun.

"I thought it was okay." Aura said casually. Everyone looked slightly shocked at Aura's new body, but his statement about Yang's pun was, surprisingly, more shocking to them. Even Yang looked surprised, albeit more pleasantly surprised.

"You're kidding." Blake said, more of a statement than a question.

"Oh, come now. Who doesn't enjoy some friendly… _ribbing_?" Aura said with emphasis on the last word as he ran his finger along his cloak, where his ribs were. Yang's eyes seemed to sparkle as everyone else groaned and had to stop themselves from slapping their faces.

"…Nevermind. You're cool. Mind if I head to Vale with you guys?" Yang said excitedly as she draped her arm over Aura's shoulders in a friendly manner.

"As long as you don't make any more puns, then fine." Ruby said, recovering from the puns.

"Oh, come now, Ruby. There's no need to… _pun_ ish you sister so." Aura said with a distinct smirk in his voice. Ruby groaned as Yang laughed. Aura began to walk out the door, but was pulled back by Yang.

"You're not going out wearing _that_!" Yang exclaimed. Aura looked down at his leather robe, silently wondering what was wrong with it.

"He can't go out looking like he was picked clean by a butcher!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, Weiss. Weird things happen all the time. I'm sure he won't attract _too_ much attention." Ruby said as Yang was flicking through some kind of magazine with Aura looking at it.

"And what if he _does_? What kind of person is going to look at… _him_ … and think he's normal?" Weiss hesitated on the word 'him', careful not to agitate Ruby by saying something else. Suddenly, there was a flash of azure light, causing Ruby and Weiss to turn their attention to the source. Aura was now wearing a pair of black jeans, a black hooded jacket, a black, buttoned, military-style jacket with the buttons undone and a pair of black boots. He placed a black soft cap on the top of his skull and a pair of leather gloves over his bony hands.

"This should cover me up from at least passing glances, right?" Aura said.

"Since when was _that_ something you could do?" Weiss asked.

"You've only known me for a day, Miss Schnee. I can do a lot of things." Aura said as he began to walk out of the room, Yang and Ruby in tow. The words seemed to replay in Weiss' mind. Her curiosity seemed to grow inside her about Aura's apparent 'many' abilities.

' _This could be interesting._ ' Weiss thought to herself.

* * *

Would have been done sooner, but I watched the season finale of RWBY halfway through writing this.

…I kinda lost my drive a bit. My heart could barely take it…


	3. Chapter 3 (Part 1)

"A spar?" Aura said as he averted his attention from his book to Weiss. Aura was sitting under the shade of a tall tree in a field on Beacon grounds, having completed his reaper duties for the day. It took Weiss a while to find him, adding to her agitation, but it surprised Aura just how hostile Weiss' attitude seemed. Aura simply stared at her with his empty eye sockets, having grown a liking to the skeletal look. Ruby and Yang also seemed to like it during their trip to Vale. Not much came out of the trip, but the sisters' friendship with the reaper seemed certified, much to Aura's delight.

"Yes. I remember that you mentioned having unique abilities, yet you seem to be filled with sloth where they are concerned." Weiss replied. She'd only seen one or two of his abilities in action when Ruby… When they first met him. Suddenly, Nora appeared behind Weiss and practically jumped on the poor girl's back.

"Did somebody say 'sloths'?!" Nora asked excitedly as Weiss stumbled forward with Nora on her back, causing Aura to chuckle and stand up.

"So, you just want to test your abilities against me, Weiss? Or is this to test _me_?" Aura asked as he stretched and cracked his bones. As he replied, the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR approached and Nora jumped up and began darting around at incredible speeds.

"Ooh! Are we gonna fight?! Are we?! Cause, I've been waiting to try myself out against Aura, cause we barely know anything about him and the best way to get to know someone is by fighting and we don't even know if he's got a cool weapon or not, plus I heard he's got some cool powers so-!" Nora's speech was cut off as Ren placed his hand over Nora's mouth. Nora continued her speech unfazed however, despite it being muffled beyond comprehension.

"Wait, why're gonna fight Aura?" Yang asked, confused. Weiss managed to get up and reply.

"I believe it would be a great test of my abilities. I don't want any of you involved." Weiss replied.

"On the contrary, Weiss. If you think you can all handle me, I'd like all of you to battle me." Aura replied as he began to walk into the centre of the field.

"Wait, that doesn't seem very fair." Blake said as the group of eight followed him. He stopped in the centre of the field and looked back at the teams.

"I know… _But it's the only handicap I can give you right now_." Aura replied menacingly as one of his eye sockets began to glow a light azure. The group felt a chill go up their spines.

"Before we do this, I want to know who I'm fighting. If anyone wants to back out, now's the time. Because, I'm not going to hold back… _anything_." Aura said, keeping his menacing tone. In response all eight of the hunters and huntresses-in-training shared a look and readied their weapons.

"Well… If that's what you want…" Aura began, regaining his casual tone.

('Cornered - Spell-breaker' begins playing)

"… _Let's reap the seeds you've sown_." Aura's menacing tone returned as he didn't change from his casual stance. Clouds began to slowly gather overhead as the wind began to pick up. Nora was the first one to make a move, leaping into the air and readying Magnhild for an almighty swing. Only to plummet to the ground, leaving a slight imprint in the dirt, surrounded in an azure aura. The fact that Aura had made a single, downward hand movement and caused such an effect made the rest of the students a little more timid to try attacking next. Aura's smirk didn't help their nerves either. Next up was Yang going for another frontal assault while Blake and Ren broke off from the group and went for a flanking manoeuvre. Yang screamed as she reeled back her fist and charged at Aura, making sure to dodge Nora as she did so. Only for Aura to catch her fist before it could collided with his face. After a clear struggle of strength, Yang was inching closer, only for Aura to suddenly vanish. Just as Blake had thrown Gambol Shroud, causing to hit Yang in the forehead with a comically audible ' _clang_ '. Aura reappeared a few feet away, still with a smirk on his skeletal face.

"Sorry, Yang." Blake apologised quickly as Yang rubbed her forehead. Nora began to get to her feet again as the attack from Blake was enough of a distraction that Nora was freed from Aura's grip.

"Just… channelling all the anger to him right now." Yang replied as she raised her fists again. Pyrrha then came up to bat and she prepared Miló and Akoúo̱. She shifted Miló into its javelin form and threw it with all of her might before charging after it. Moments before impact, Aura merely smacked the spear away. Pyrrha raised her hand to bring Miló back to her hand, only for Aura to do the same. Pyrrha began to strain as she fought Aura for possession and control of her weapon. Miló began to slowly inch towards Aura until his concentration was once again broken. This time by Ren as he attempted to kick Aura in the back only for him to relinquish his grip on Miló and bounding another few feet away. Pyrrha gripped Miló tightly as she heard the cock of a gun behind her. She turned to see Ruby plant Crescent Rose into the ground to stabilise it as she began to fire at Aura. Aura merely lazily raised his hand to block the shots in a similar way to Cinder did on the night where Ruby first met Glynda and Ozpin.

"It's like he's barely even trying!" Yang said as she cocked Ember Celica and began to fire alongside Ruby, followed by Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren. Aura quickly made a full shield in front of him to block all of the shots. But, his lazy, cocky bravado was replaced with confusion and suspicion as two questions entered his mind.

' _1: why are they still shooting? They have to know it won't work by now._ _And 2: …weren't there EIGHT of them?_ ' Aura thought as he counted the shooters again, but once again, only reaching seven. Hearing some grass crumple behind him, Aura began to turn around, only to see the flash of a blade being swung. Jaune had successfully flanked Aura and swiped across his chest with Crocea Mors, cracking a number of his ribs, his sternum and slicing a hole in the front of his clothes. Aura clutched the bloodless wound as the rest of the students walked forward, wary of Aura.

"…Well… I didn't see that coming. I didn't think you guys would advance so soon." Aura said, breathing heavily. Weiss' face took on a look of disappointment.

"Really? That's _it_? I could have taken you down alone." Weiss boasted and for once, no one seemed to disagree with her.

"Hey, I may be fragile, but I didn't say I was _beaten_." Aura said, his menacing tone returning as the wind began to pick up again. The group of eight were suddenly on edge again as a cloud of darkness consumed Aura and began to grow larger, causing them retreat a number of feet.

"But, I must ask…" Aura's voice penetrated the black fog as it stopped growing in size.

"Do any of you like… _ssspiders_?" Aura's voice took on a slight lisp as he left an emphasis on the 'S'. The team shared a look of slight dread as the fog began to dissipate, revealing what was inside it…

* * *

Aura Digivolve to…!

But, yeah. Another chapter. Just 'cause I'm nice.

Don't worry, though. The fight's not over yet. Oh, it's barely begun.


	4. Chapter 4 (Part 2)

"Do any of you like… ssspiders?" Aura's voice took on a slight lisp as he left an emphasis on the 'S'. The team shared a look of slight dread as the fog began to dissipate, revealing what was inside it…

…A monster. No Grimm had ever been as intimidating as what was in front of the teens now. Aura had taken on a large form, at least twice as large as the average Ursa. The form had a giant skeletal torso and skeletal version of a spider's thorax and abdomen.

(Looks kinda like this: art/Skeleton-Spider-408793045 P.s: Image not by me)

"Aw… What'sss the matter? I guesss you don't like ssspidersss after all." Aura said in his new voice. It was a few octaves higher than his normal one, but it attained a small lisp and emphasis on 'S's. Surprisingly, it was Pyrrha that broke the silence.

"No, I don't! Someone, kill it!" Pyrrha exclaimed loudly as she held her shield; Akoúo̱ over her eyes, blocking Aura from her view. Everyone looked at her in shock. They were surprised to see anything truly get under Pyrrha's skin.

"I'm sorry. I just _hate_ spiders." Pyrrha said with a shudder. Everyone recovered as more azure energy gathered in Aura's hands.

('Spider Dance Dual Mix' starts playing)

"Asss amusssing asss thisss isss, it'sss time to end thisss." Aura said before he slammed his hands to the ground. Suddenly, the ground seemed to glow a dim azure before glowing, azure webbing began emerging from Aura's hands and spreading along the ground. Weiss, Ruby, Blake, Ren and Pyrrha responded by leaping into the air and landing on a large glyph that Weiss formed under their feet. Yang, Jaune and Nora however, didn't react in time, causing the web to reach them and wrap around their feet, trapping them.

"Ah, Dust." Yang cursed as she tried to pull her feet out of the web, to no avail. Suddenly, Aura darted forward at incredible speeds and grabbed the three trapped teenagers in his right hand. He quickly jabbed the three of them with a small stinger on his finger on his left hand before dropping them again. When the three recovered, their vision began to blur and contort, leaving them incredibly dizzy and ready to vomit. Before they fainted on the spot.

"What was _that_?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I think it was some kind of venom. We need to take his hands out first." Weiss said.

"But, how do we do that? We can't touch the ground! The web's adhesive is too strong!" Blake exclaimed.

"…That's why he walked into the field… He _knew_ we'd beat him in his normal body. We've got no vantage points to work off of." Ruby said, slightly breathless at the realisation. There was a moment of silence before Ren stood and prepared StormFlower.

"Now isn't the time for that. We need to attack in quick succession." Ren said.

"Overwhelm him. Just like last time. There's no way he's as agile as his old body. Let's do it!" Ruby said as she prepared Crescent Rose. Suddenly, many glyphs appeared around the field at varying heights and locations, causing Aura to glance around, confused.

"Use them. Make sure you don't hit the web." Weiss said calmly as she returned her focus to the glyphs. Ruby, Blake and Ren leapt off of the glyph and began to hop from glyph to glyph, firing their weapons at Aura causing him to raise his hands and use them as shields against the shots. Aura couldn't draw his attention away from the constant attack, despite none of them hitting anything but his palms. With another flash of azure from his hands, streams of webbing began to shoot up from the ground, attaching to a number of the glyphs. The web slowly spread across the glyphs they'd managed to hit, until they were completely covered. Undeterred, Ruby, Blake and Ren continued to attack as they tried to keep track of the glyphs that were still uncovered. Weiss stood back up on the first glyph, Pyrrha still next to her.

"Ready?" Weiss asked, raising Myrtenster. Pyrrha nodded, still shaking slightly and she switched Miló into its rifle form and raised it to her eye. With a flick of Weiss' wrist the Dust cylinder spun in her sword and wave of Weiss' hand, streams of baby blue energy shot from the blade's tip. The streams of energy hit Aura right on his wrists and he was shocked to see a massive build-up of ice on his wrists. Pyrrha took a gentle, calming breath before making the shot. As she shot twice, the ice around Aura's wrists shattered. And so did the wrists themselves, causing his hands to fall to the ground. Aura screeched in pain as he stumbled backwards, looking to his handless arms in panic.

With a small, somewhat adorable yell from behind him, Aura tried to turn only to see a flash of red and black as Ruby and Blake rushed towards Aura's spine as a blur before striking it as hard as they could. With the combination of Gambol Shroud and Crescent Rose slashing his vertebrae, Aura's entire torso split from the rest of his body. With a final strike as Ren leapt from a glyph and kicked Aura in the forehead, Aura's torso fell to the ground, whereas the rest of his body just collapsed. In a flash of azure, all of the webbing vanished and Yang, Jaune and Nora began to stir.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed happily as she embraced her sister as she groggily tried to get up.

"Ugh… What hit me?" Yang asked, still slightly dizzy.

"It doesn't matter, we beat-… Uh…" Ruby's enthusiasm immediately vanished as she looked back at Aura. Everyone followed her gaze to see that the spider-like appendages had vanished and the black fog had returned and was now covering more of the battlefield. The students were suddenly at full attention with their weapons raised, although a few of them were breathing slightly heavily. The fog began to slowly dissipate as a voice cut through the darkness and any confidence the students had left.

" _ **You're far more skilled than I thought.**_ " The voice was completely different from the previous voices. It was deeper than any voice they'd ever heard before and it caused everyone to freeze where they stood. They continued to stare into the darkness as something was beginning to stir within it. Something _big_ …

* * *

I guess I've just got to get these ideas out of my head. I'll probably just collapse when I finish this battle.


	5. Chapter 5 (Part 3)

" _ **You're far more skilled than I thought.**_ " The voice was completely different from the previous voices. It was deeper than any voice they'd ever heard before and it caused everyone to freeze where they stood. They continued to stare into the darkness as something was beginning to stir within it. Something _big_ …

" _ **Maybe I should have used my strongest form from the start. I guess I just underestimated you all.**_ " The chilling voice said. Suddenly, a large skeletal hand emerged from the darkness. It was much bigger than it used to be. The hand alone was roughly the size of a Beowolf, if not bigger.

" _ **I'd assumed that you wouldn't be near my level. But, you know what they say about assuming. Anyway…**_ " Another large hand emerged from the darkness as a skeletal head emerged from the darkness. The darkness began to spread around the entire battlefield, making it a pitch black environment, but no one cared. All eyes were on the monstrosity before them. This _thing_ was bigger than a Nevermore and eighteen times more terrifying. When it came to Nevermores, the students at least knew they could be killed. The titan before them however, they drew a blank.

"… _ **You all should just get comfortable… The fun hasn't stopped yet…**_ " The demon said, staring down at the teenagers.

(Yeah… It basically looks like this: art/ULTRA-SANS-575201126 . They won't be able to sleep for weeks.)

A dim azure glow filled the demon's eyes as he raised his hands slightly, still ready to fight. The teens shakily took up arms as well.

('Waters of Megalovania' begins playing)

" _ **So… How should we battle? We've played to your strengths with strategy and combat… But how**_ **wise** _ **do you believe yourselves to be?**_ " Aura asked, causing confusion to rise in each of the teens.

" _ **Instead of a test of**_ **brawns** _ **… what say you to a test of**_ **brains** _ **?**_ " Aura asked as he suddenly trapped the students in a circle of azure energy. Nora quickly took a swing at it with Magnhild, only to not leave a scratch on it.

" _ **It's simple. You answer a few of my questions. Every time you get one right, you get to move closer to defeating me. Every time you get one wrong… Well… You**_ **really** _ **won't like what comes next…**_ " Aura explained. The students looked at each other with a look of dread, but they knew that they had no other options.

"Alright. Bring on the questions!" Yang said confidently. She knew that they stood a chance because of Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha and Ren being quite intellectually advanced.

"Yang, don't antagonise him!" Ruby hissed.

" _ **Very well, then. This is the first question. Take as much time as you wish to answer. '**_ **What comes once in a second, twice in a week and once in a year** _ **'?**_ " Aura asked before he began to wait patiently for the answer. Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha and Ren began to discuss between themselves as to what the answer could be, while Jaune, Yang and Nora looked on in confusion, not getting the question at all. The group of four were no closer to finding an answer as nothing that they thought of made logical sense. However, movement caught their eyes as the saw Ruby was slightly bouncing on the spot in excitement.

"Oh! Oh! The letter 'E'! It's the letter 'E'!" Ruby answered excitedly. The remaining seven looked at her in shock at her answer, as she hadn't consulted any of them before blurting out her answer. Weiss looked ready to wring Ruby's neck, but Aura's voice cut through the air.

" _ **Correct. Well done. You will need to move with the ring.**_ " Aura said as the ring of energy surrounding them slowly got closer to Aura before stopping. They suddenly knew that if they answered enough questions correctly, they would be able to hit Aura. Suddenly, a giant bolt of lightning struck down from the sky and hit Aura. Hard. He roared in pain before recovering and looking back at the group. A feeling of dread filled their hearts at the apparent punishment for incorrect answers. Weiss lightly patted Ruby on the shoulder supportively.

"Thank you for not getting it wrong, Ruby." Weiss said weakly, causing Ruby to weakly nod, still in shock.

" _ **Moving on. This is the next question: If it's information you seek, come and see me. If it is pairs of letters you need, I have consecutively three. Who am I?**_ " Aura asked. The group once again conversed with each other until Blake stepped forward.

"…A bookkeeper." Blake answered. The ring began to move wordlessly as another large bolt struck Aura, causing him to hunch over, using his hands to support him on the ground. After only two strikes, Aura was doubled over and ready to collapse. The group looked at the skeletal behemoth and wonder just how powerful those strikes were. None of them, not even with their replenished Aura would be able to tank a strike that could critically weaken Aura's 'strongest' form in two shots.

" _ *****_ **Inhale** _ *** ***_ **Exhale** _ *** …Final… Question… In a village, the barber shaves everyone who does not shave himself, but no one else. Who shaves the barber?**_ " Aura asked, exhausted. The group looked at each other and discussed the answer, only to begin to sweat as the answer wasn't coming to them.

"Uh… Wait… What's that?!" Ruby called out as Aura had an object floating above his hand. A sand timer. The sand was rapidly flowing from the top segment to the bottom. The group quickly pieced it together as they quickly went back to their thinking.

"It's the barber himself, right?" Jaune asked the group, careful to not raise his voice and give an answer that may not be right.

"The barber doesn't shave anyone who shaves themselves. It can't be himself." Weiss replied. Yang groaned in frustration as she scratched her head rapidly.

"Is there even an answer to this?!" Yang exclaimed in frustration. The group went silent at her words.

"Wait… That's it. There _i_ s no answer. There _is_ … no…" Weiss' sentence trailed off as Aura waved his finger lightly back and forth and held up the sand timer. Time was up. And they didn't give their answer in time. Aura edged closer to the ring and placed his hand over the ring as an azure glow emanated from his hand. The group looked at the hand in complete terror as the electrical energy built up in the hand. Not one second after the lightning began to strike from the hand, Nora had jumped up over the group and took the full force of the strike.

" _Nora_!" Jaune called out as Nora was suspended in the air by the strike. Once the energy subsided, Nora fell back to the ground, only to not have any injuries. Her eyes were wide and somewhat unfocussed and she seemed to be overflowing with energy. Before Aura could react, Nora drew Magnhild and swung at the ring once again, only to shatter it with a single swing. Aura was clearly shock at Nora's suddenly immense strength and could only blanch in shock as Nora launched herself up high and swung her hammer down towards Aura, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANZAAAAAIIII!" Nora yelled as she slammed Magnhild into Aura's skull, cracking it completely and shattering a sizable chunk of it. As Nora landed, spent of her energy, Aura slammed to the ground and the dark fog returned once more. The environment around them returned to the field at Beacon and the figure within the fog became far, far smaller.

…Smaller than should be.

When the fog cleared, nobody expected what was sitting on the grass, idly playing with a small dagger. He was a young man with pale skin, no older than and roughly the same height as Ruby… He was also wearing a pirate's outfit. He was wearing brown trousers, black shin-high boots, a white shirt with a black, sleeveless jacket and a red bandana taming his wild, auburn hair. He sighed as he slowly got to his feet and looked at the group, causing them to gape slightly at his eyes. They were bright silver, just like Ruby's.

"Well, then. _This_ is what happens when that form gets defeated." The young man said, his voice very soft and had a hint of deepness to it, but still a few octaves higher than the other two male present.

"…Aura?" Ruby asked, timidly approaching the young man. The boy nodded as his attention went back to the dagger as he idly toyed with it in his hands.

"…Why do you look like tha-?" Ruby's sentence was cut off by Aura snapping his fingers and the whole area was bathed in blinding light. When the light subsided, the group saw that they were standing on a single, large platform that was floating over a white abyss. The group looked back at Aura to see him glaring at them.

"I _never_ wanted to see this form again! It disgusts me that I have to be like this! …This isn't about skills anymore… I'm going to make you _pay_ for this." Aura exclaimed angrily as he prepared the dagger in his hand as his eyes seemed to shine maliciously.

('Rikishi no Tenkan Ten' starts playing)

The group was on edge at the actions and were even more so as he began to walk towards them. Suddenly… all of them couldn't move. They were trapped in an azure glow and frozen where they stood. The look in Aura's eyes was truly scaring the group now. Aura gripped the knife firmly as he continued to close the distance between him and the frozen teenagers.

"Which one of you will be first, then?" Aura's new soft voice asked rhetorically and full of malice. The teens continued to watch him, terrified as he stopped a few feet in front of them. His eyes settled on Weiss, causing her to sweat under his gaze.

" _You_ brought this on me, Weiss." Aura said before he walked right up to her and lightly pressed the knife's blade against her right cheek, causing her to begin to take rapid breaths in a panic.

"Let's see if we can even up your face… _Ice Queen_." Aura said coldly before he began to press the blade further into Weiss' face. Before the blade could break her skin, a voice caught Aura's attention.

"STOP! I volunteer! Do it to me! Just don't hurt my friends!" Ruby screamed frantically. Aura's gaze fixed onto Ruby. Without moving his gaze, he slowly removed the knife from Weiss' face, filling her with a large amount of relief. He walked over to Ruby, ignoring Yang's loud protests. He stopped before her, staring into Ruby's eyes, only for her to stare back, with a fierce determination.

"Let's make this _fair_ , shall we?" Aura said before snapping his fingers. Aura and Ruby suddenly collapsed, unconscious. The spell binding the group disappeared, but another spell had appeared, creating a shield around Aura's and Ruby's bodies, preventing anyone from going near them.

All the group could do… was wait.


	6. Chapter 6 (Part 4)

('The Other Promise' starts playing)

Ruby awoke in an arena that was very similar to the one that everyone was just in. However, Ruby quickly realised that she was alone in the arena. All of her friends were nowhere in sight. As she turned her gaze all around the arena, she blinked. After she reopened her eyes, Aura was standing at the opposite end of the arena, staring her down.

"Aura… Why are you doing this?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking slightly. Aura looked down at his feet for a moment before returning his gaze to Ruby.

"I did something in this form that I will never forgive. My only wish was that I wouldn't have to be in this form ever again." Aura replied.

"What did you do? …Is that your true form?" Ruby asked. Aura didn't reply for a moment.

"I didn't bring you here to talk. You know why I brought you here." Aura said.

"I… I don't know what you- AHHHH!" Ruby sentence was cut off as she was surrounded by dark energy and she doubled over in pain. Ruby was in unbearable agony. She couldn't think, she couldn't speak… she couldn't even stay on her feet. She painfully lifted her eyes to see that it was Aura putting her through it with a spell.

"This is the pain that I was ready to bestow upon you all. You volunteered to bear it yourself. Surrender now and end this so that I may return to the Underworld." Aura said coldly…but Ruby could hear the sadness in his voice.

"…W… Wh… Why… This… Pain…?" Ruby choked out as much as the pain would allow her to. Aura seemed surprised that she was actually able to speak still.

"This is the pain I feel made manifest. …The pain running through you is construct of the guilt and sorrow that I feel in what was once my heart and my soul. But… I sold those away. You are feeling… my existence." Aura replied, the sadness in his voice clearer than before. Ruby suddenly received flashes of images in her mind. Of a young man. Aura. He seemed to be surrounded by people. She couldn't piece together what the images meant or what the entirety of the images were, but she knew one thing. There were many smiles.

"Please, just stop, Ruby. No one will judge you for wanting it to stop now." Aura said sombrely, sounding like he was hoping she would agree with him.

"…No…" Ruby rasped as she began to perform the impossible.

She was beginning to stand up.

(Persona 4 OST: Genesis (Uplifting Verse) starts playing)

"Wh-what?!" Aura was truly shocked as he watched Ruby struggle against her arms and braced her legs. Minutes passed as Ruby made more progress, little by little and Aura simply stared in complete awe.

"I won't… ever… give up on my friends…" Ruby rasped as she finally stood firmly on her feet.

"That's… that's impossible!" Aura exclaimed as he backed up against the edge of the arena. Ruby began to slowly and weakly walk towards Aura, causing him to blanch.

"St-stay away!" Aura yelled as he let loose a blast of energy that hit Ruby in the centre of her chest. But, didn't knock her down. She continued to slowly walk towards Aura, who was beginning to sweat.

"How can you stand so much pain and still remain on your feet?! How can you take my pain so easily?!" Aura exclaimed as he blasted her again, only to fail to knock her down once again.

"…It… isn't… easy… But… I'll take… as much pain as I have to… for my friends…" Ruby rasped as she continued to draw closer.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Aura screamed as he let loose a giant beam of dark energy, engulfing Ruby completely. The beam had all of Aura's remaining power as fuel and when it subsided, it had reduced Ruby to dust.

…

..Or at least… It _should_ have. It _should_ have killed Ruby where she stood.

…

…But, she refused.

Ruby's body looked beaten and bruised and her entire body shook with every movement, but it was still intact and she didn't stop walking forward. She was only a few metres away from Aura now and he had no power left to attack her with.

"HOW?! HOW DID YOU DO THIS?!" Aura screamed in confusion and fear, tears rolling down his face.

"…Because, you don't really _want_ to hurt me…" Ruby rasped weakly as she continued still.

"WHAT _ARE_ YOU?!" Aura screamed, seemingly a moment away from weeping.

"…Don't you know?" Ruby said as she finally reached Aura. And wrapped her arms around the boy that was now her height. She pulled her face back and gave Aura a pained, tearful smile that could melt anyone's heart.

"…I'm your BFF!" Ruby exclaimed happily, despite the damage to her form as the arena was suddenly engulfed in a blinding, white light…

* * *

Weiss, Yang, Blake and Team JNPR jumped slightly as Ruby opened her eyes and began to move her body again. The first thing she noticed was that she no longer felt the pain that was previously inflicted on her. The second was that her body was undamaged and she managed to realise that it must have been some kind of dream created by Aura. Third, Aura had woken up also…

…He was weeping like a small child… Perhaps, in a way… He still was one.

Ruby slowly stood up with the two teams surrounding her.

"Ruby, what happened?" Yang asked as she helped Ruby up as she kept her eyes on the weeping young man.

"…I think we won." Ruby said as the teams slowly walked towards Aura as watched them very tearful eyes. Suddenly, he began to wail as he leapt into Ruby's arms, causing her to wrap her arms around him as he began to wail apologies at the two teams slowly crouched to attempt to comfort the small man.

* * *

"…You put Ruby through immense pain, but she forced her way through it and 'beat' you as a result?" Weiss asked, confirming what Aura had just told her. Aura nodded, his eyes red from crying so much.

"…That's awesome!" Nora shouted as she patted Ruby on the back.

"But, Aura, I saw images of a group of people during that pain I was put through. They were smiling and you were with them. What were those?" Ruby asked.

"…It's probable that those were my memories." Aura replied in a broken voice.

"Memories? Who were those people then?" Ruby asked.

"…They were my old crew." Aura said. The two teams leaned forward slightly, eager to hear more.

(One Piece - Bink's Sake [violin solo] starts playing)

"I was once a cabin boy on a pirate ship named the SS Shinigami. The crew aboard the ship were more like a family than a team. The captain… Captain Ai Amor… She was like the mother of the crew. We'd do the normal pirate things. We'd fight, we'd plunder, we'd steal from criminals and everything in between. But… we'd also dance, we'd laugh and we'd sing… (Chuckle) I can still remember our favourite song… I'd watch the crew get drunk at night and just watch how happy every single one of them were. Despite the fact that I was far younger than all of them, they still treated me like one of the family. Whenever I offered to leave, to stop being a burden on them. They'd just call Ai and she'd just say with the sweetest smile… 'Why would we push _family_ away?'." Aura finished his explanation with a small blush on his cheeks that Yang picked up on.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho… Did someone have a crush on the captain?" Yang asked in a teasing manner, causing Aura to lightly chuckle.

"At the time, I did indeed. As I grew older, I heard more about the lives of the crew and I realised that everyone, including me had one thing in common… If we had left that ship at any time… We'd have nowhere else to go. We were all alone in the world… But on that ship… We didn't need the world. We had all we needed." Small tears began to roll down Aura's cheeks as he spoke, his small smile slowly beginning to falter.

"But… That all changed when the ship was finally tracked down and attacked… by Captain Solomon Schnee. Your ancestor, Weiss." Aura said, causing Weiss to blanch slightly at his words.

"What happened? Did you fight back?" Yang asked.

"We did… We lost…" Aura said in a broken voice. At that moment, everyone's hearts felt heavier as they realised where the story was going.

"We were completely destroyed by Schnee's men… I stayed alive long enough to see the entire ship in ruins and the bodies of all of my friends floating in the water… All of them… were gone." Aura continued to speak, despite the tears that were pouring down his face.

"I knew that I would share the same fate… until I heard a voice from the heavens…" Aura said.

"What did it say?" Jaune asked, invested in the story.

"…If memory serves well enough… it said: ' _Fallen soul with eyes of silver, I offer you this choice. Walk among the living again and hear aloud their voice. However for this chance, there is a price to pay. Walk along with the dead and send them on their way._ '. I was so afraid of death that I accepted its offer. I was just a child… A stupid, stupid child… As a result I became the new grim reaper." Aura said sombrely. The two teams didn't reply. They had nothing to say. Except Ruby.

"You said that you did something unforgivable in this form… What… What was it you did?" Ruby asked, half of her not wanting to know the answer, the other half feeling guilty that the answer will most likely make everyone feel worse. The latter half was right.

"…I was wrong. I only thought I was the last one of the crew that was alive. After I sold away my heart and soul to become Death itself, what did I get in return? A scroll with only one name on it for the day… The last member of the crew… Captain Ai Amor…" Aura said slowly, causing the colour in the two teams faces to falter before all of them felt pain in their hearts at the downright cruel twist of fate.

"…I had to watch as my beloved captain… scrambled away from me. Afraid of the power I was emanating… and I had to take her soul from her body for it to pass on… The last words she ever spoke to me were… 'I thought we were family…'!" Aura began sobbing again, causing Ruby, Yang and Nora to immediately embrace him.

"…Aura… I know what it's like to lose someone… You know it's true, you've seen her name. And… sometimes, it just… doesn't get easier. But… you can't let your sadness prevent you from moving on. You don't have to pretend you don't care, you don't have to forget them, but you can't just self-destruct like this." Ruby explained as she clung tightly to him.

"And you can't run from who you are. You can't be anyone else. But, you shouldn't have to be." Yang contributed as she clutched him tightly also.

"Did you ever see her again?" Ruby asked.

"…No… I've always been too ashamed." Aura replied.

"How do you know she hasn't forgiven you?" Jaune asked.

"Would any of you forgiven me if you were in her position, even after the hundred years that has passed since then?" Aura asked incredulously, only to be shocked as every person present replied with 'yes'.

"Especially after all this time… I think she'd miss you more than anything else. And if you explained everything to her… I think she'd welcome you back to the crew." Ruby said with a sad smile, the caused Aura to tear up again as the corners of his lips seemed to tug upwards against his will.

(Binks' Sake - Flute and Guitar cover - One Piece ~JFK~ starts playing)

"…Damn it… I don't want to start crying again… Maybe it is time to carry on… with my new crew…" Aura said as he looked around at the group of eight scallywags that had bested him. A victory that he was happy not to have received. After giving a happy chuckle, Ruby spoke as she, Yang and Nora released Aura.

"So, what's the first order of business for the crew, Captain Aura?" Ruby asked happily with a smile on her face that seemed to spread to everyone present. Aura turned his gaze to each team member individually and took in the sincere smile that they were bestowing upon him. He finally let loose a smile of his own as the area around them began to slowly glow white. Before they returned to the real world, the two teams heard Aura's voice cut through the blinding light.

"…We learn to sing my favourite song…" Aura whispered happily as they all faded from sight, ready to take on the world. Together.


End file.
